Substitute Senate Bill No. 572
Substitute Senate Bill No. 572
PUBLIC ACT NO. 98-36
AN ACT CONCERNING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO THE
PUBLIC HEALTH STATUTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 20-195b
of the general statutes, as amended by section 1
of public act 97-213, is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof:
(b) No person shall use the title "licensed
marital and family therapist" unless he is
licensed in accordance with the provisions of
section [19a-195c] 20-195c.
Sec. 2. Subsection (f) of section 19a-266 of
the general statutes, as amended by section 54 of
public act 97-8 of the June 18 special session, is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof:
(f) The Commissioner of Public Health shall
report annually to the joint standing [committee]
COMMITTEES of the General Assembly having
cognizance of matters relating to public health
and appropriations. The report shall include, but
not be limited to, a description of the rate of
breast cancer and cervical cancer morbidity and
mortality in this state and the extent of
participation in breast cancer and cervical cancer
screening.
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 19a-613 of
the general statutes is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) The Office of Health Care Access shall
employ the most effective and practical means
necessary to fulfill the purposes of [19a-610 to
19a-622] THIS CHAPTER, including but not limited
to, performing the duties and functions as
enumerated in subsection (b) of this section.
Sec. 4. Section 1 of public act 97-188 is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof:
For purposes of [this act] SECTIONS 1 TO 9,
INCLUSIVE, OF PUBLIC ACT 97-188:
(1) "Nonprofit hospital" means a nonprofit
entity licensed as a hospital pursuant to chapter
368v of the general statutes and any entity
affiliated with such a hospital through governance
or membership, including, but not limited to, a
holding company or subsidiary.
(2) "Purchaser" means a person acquiring any
assets of a nonprofit hospital [or nonprofit
health care center] through a transfer.
(3) "Person" means any individual, firm,
partnership, corporation, limited liability
company, association or other entity.
(4) "Transfer" means to sell, transfer,
lease, exchange, option, convey, give or otherwise
dispose of or transfer control over, including,
but not limited to, transfer by way of merger or
joint venture not in the ordinary course of
business.
(5) "Control" has the meaning assigned to it
in section 36b-41 of the general statutes.
Sec. 5. Section 4 of public act 97-188 is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof:
(a) The Attorney General shall disapprove a
proposed agreement requiring notice under section
2 of [this act] PUBLIC ACT 97-188, as not in the
public interest if he determines that one or more
of the following conditions exist: (1) The
transaction is prohibited by Connecticut statutory
or common law governing nonprofit entities, trusts
or charities; (2) the nonprofit hospital failed to
exercise due diligence in (A) deciding to
transfer, (B) selecting the purchaser, (C)
obtaining a fairness evaluation from an
independent person expert in such agreements, or
(D) negotiating the terms and conditions of the
transfer; (3) the nonprofit hospital failed to
disclose any conflict of interest, including, but
not limited to, conflicts of interest pertaining
to board members, officers, key employees and
experts of the hospital, the purchaser or any
other party to the transaction; (4) the nonprofit
hospital will not receive fair market value for
its assets, which, for purposes of this
subsection, means the most likely price that the
assets would bring in a sale in a competitive and
open market under all conditions requisite to a
fair sale, with the buyer and seller each acting
prudently, knowledgeably and in their own best
interest, and with a reasonable time being allowed
for exposure in the open market; (5) the fair
market value of the assets has been manipulated by
any person in a manner that causes the value of
the assets to decrease; (6) the financing of the
transaction by the nonprofit hospital will place
the nonprofit hospital's assets at an unreasonable
risk; (7) any management contract contemplated
under the transaction is not for reasonable fair
value; (8) a sum equal to the fair market value of
the nonprofit hospital's assets (A) is not being
transferred to one or more persons TO BE selected
by the Superior Court who are not affiliated
through corporate structure, governance or
membership with either the nonprofit hospital or
the purchaser and (B) is not being used for one of
the following purposes: (i) For appropriate
charitable health care purposes consistent with
the nonprofit [hospital or nonprofit health care
center's] HOSPITAL'S original purpose, (ii) for
the support and promotion of health care generally
in the affected community, or (iii) with respect
to any assets held by the nonprofit hospital that
are subject to a use restriction imposed by a
donor, for a purpose consistent with the intent of
said donor; or (9) the nonprofit hospital or the
purchaser has failed to provide the Attorney
General with information and data sufficient to
evaluate the proposed agreement adequately,
provided the Attorney General has notified the
nonprofit hospital or the purchaser of the
inadequacy of the information or data and has
provided a reasonable opportunity to remedy such
inadequacy.
(b) The Attorney General may, during the
course of a review required by section 3 of [this
act] PUBLIC ACT 97-188: (1) Issue in writing and
cause to be served upon any person, by subpoena, a
demand that such person appear before him and give
testimony or produce documents as to any matters
relevant to the scope of the review; or (2) issue
written interrogatories, to be answered under
oath, as to any matters relevant to the scope of
the review and prescribing a return date that
would allow a reasonable time to respond. If any
person fails to comply with the provisions of this
subsection, the Attorney General may apply to the
Superior Court for the judicial district of
Hartford-New Britain seeking enforcement of the
subpoena. The Superior Court may, upon notice to
such person, issue and cause to be served an order
requiring compliance. Service of subpoenas ad
testificandum, subpoenas duces tecum, notices of
deposition and written interrogatories as provided
in this subsection may be made by personal service
at the usual place of abode or by certified mail,
return receipt requested, addressed to the person
to be served at his principal place of business
[in] WITHIN OR WITHOUT this state or his
residence.
(c) The Attorney General may contract with
experts or consultants to assist in reviewing the
proposed agreement, including, but not limited to,
assistance in independently determining the fair
market value of the nonprofit hospital's assets.
The Attorney General shall submit any bills for
such contracts to the purchaser. The purchaser
shall pay such bills within thirty days of
receipt. Such bills shall not exceed one hundred
fifty thousand dollars.
Sec. 6. Subsection (c) of section 5 of public
act 97-188 is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
(c) The commissioner may, during the course
of a review required by this section: (1) Issue in
writing and cause to be served upon any person, by
subpoena, a demand that such person appear before
him and give testimony or produce documents as to
any matters relevant to the scope of the review;
and (2) issue written interrogatories, to be
answered under oath, as to any matters relevant to
the scope of the review and prescribing a return
date that would allow a reasonable time to
respond. If any person fails to comply with the
provisions of this subsection, the commissioner,
through the Attorney General, may apply to the
Superior Court for the judicial district of
Hartford-New Britain seeking enforcement of such
subpoena. The Superior Court may, upon notice to
such person, issue and cause to be served an order
requiring compliance. Service of subpoenas ad
testificandum, subpoenas duces tecum, notices of
deposition and written interrogatories as provided
in this subsection may be made by personal service
at the usual place of abode or by certified mail,
return receipt requested, addressed to the person
to be served at his principal place of business
[in] WITHIN OR WITHOUT this state or his
residence.
Sec. 7. Section 8 of public act 97-188 is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu
thereof:
The Commissioner of Public Health shall
refuse to issue a license to, or if issued shall
suspend or revoke the license of, a [nonprofit]
hospital if the commissioner finds, after a
hearing and opportunity to be heard, that:
(1) There was a transaction described in
section 2 of [this act] PUBLIC ACT 97-188, without
the approval of the Commissioner of Health Care
Access, if such approval was required by [this
act] SECTIONS 1 TO 9, INCLUSIVE, OF PUBLIC ACT
97-188, AS AMENDED BY THIS ACT, and the
Commissioner of Health Care Access certifies to
the Commissioner of Public Health that approval
was not obtained;
(2) There was a transaction described in
section 2 of [this act] PUBLIC ACT 97-188, without
the approval of the Attorney General, if such
approval was required by [this act] PUBLIC ACT
97-188, AS AMENDED BY THIS ACT, and the Attorney
General certifies to the Commissioner of Public
Health that such transaction involved a material
amount of the nonprofit hospital's assets or
operations or a change in control of operations;
or
(3) The [nonprofit] hospital is not complying
with the terms of an agreement approved by the
Attorney General and commissioner pursuant to
[this act] SECTIONS 1 TO 9, INCLUSIVE, OF PUBLIC
ACT 97-188, AS AMENDED BY THIS ACT.
Approved May 19, 1998